“Instead of offering real solutions to balance the budget and fund public schools in Pennsylvania, the Senate Republicans are relying on the same failed gimmicks that created the budget mess in the first place.”

Nowhere is that gap wider than in Pennsylvania, according to federal data. School districts with the highest poverty rates here receive one-third fewer state and local tax dollars, per pupil, than the most affluent districts. This spring, the new governor has outlined an ambitious plan to address the inequities, but it faces opposition at the statehouse.